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West Cumbria's first electric car has spark

Its driver Malcolm Bobbitt, 65, of Holmewood Paddock, believes it is the first electric car ever to be driven in the town.

Malcolm, a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, got the chance to test drive the new £28,000 Mitsubishi iMiev electric car last week.

Border Cars at Lillyhall have started selling the electric cars and said there was a market for them in Cumbria.

Ian Glendinning, sales manager, said: “It is an ideal company car and a lot of people are interested even though the infrastructure needed for it is not there at the moment.

“It is also ideal for this area as it can recharge itself when going downhill.”

The car comes with a lead that can be plugged into any normal 13 amp socket.

The other end is plugged into where the petrol would normally go.

A full charge for the car takes around seven hours and enables it to run for around 80 miles.

However, Malcolm said that if the car was on half charge, it would take around two-and-a-half hours to get it back up to full.

With electric power under his bonnet, Malcolm took to the streets to see how it would cope.

Malcolm, who writes about new cars for magazines and books, said: “It has a distinctive shape and I am interested in how it works and how it feels against a normal car.

“The acceleration is terrific, it is very quiet, and it’s short and narrow so it parks easily.”

Malcolm said while he would not plan any long journeys with it, he would use it around the town.

He said: “It is designed for urban transport and for very localised use it is ideal. You can very easily go from Cockermouth to Keswick or Workington and back, but the cars do have limitations regarding distance.”

Have your say

Wonder what the electricity bill would be to fully charge the thing!!

Posted by Martin on
17 May 2012 at 11:26

What's wrong with Toyota's wonderful Prius, it also recharges downhill. Though it is combined petrol/electric energy, it is still most economical and doesn't cost Â£28k either !! It csn be had in a 7 seater version now as well as the 5 seat. Also, no need for laborious hours of plug charging!